Waimea, Hawai'i County, Hawai'i

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waimea is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaiʻi, United States. The population was 7,028 at the 2000 census. Since each U.S. state cannot have more than one locality of the same name, the official USPS name for Waimea is Kamuela, since there are many 'Waimeas' on the islands of Hawaiʻi.

Waimea is the largest town in the interior of the Big Island, and is the center for ranching activities and paniolo culture. Parker Ranch in and around Waimea is the largest privately-owned cattle ranch in the US, and the annual Fourth of July rodeo is a major event.

Waimea is also home to the headquarters of two astronomical observatories located on Mauna Kea, the Keck Observatory and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.

[edit] Geography

Location of Waimea, Hawaiʻi

Waimea is located at 20°1′26″N, 155°38′50″W (20.023926, -155.647357)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 100.5 km² (38.8 mi²). 100.4 km² (38.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.15%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,028 people, 2,371 households, and 1,782 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 70.0/km² (181.4/mi²). There were 2,589 housing units at an average density of 25.8/km² (66.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 30.65% White, 0.33% African American, 0.17% Native American, 20.29% Asian, 15.61% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 32.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.80% of the population.

There were 2,371 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.36.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $51,150, and the median income for a family was $55,822. Males had a median income of $36,710 versus $27,217 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $20,773. About 4.2% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.